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Easy Headband Tutorial with a Side of Awkward

June 14th, 2011

Alright people, after writing yesterday how I lost interest in crafting for a hot second, something happened and I got motivated! Ok, well not like super motivated, but enough so that I was able to put together this easy tutorial for you! Here we go.

Easy Headband Tutorial

Supplies:

Measuring Tape
Jersey Knit Material
Basic Sewing Supplies

Cutting:

Cut 1 – M” x 3″ Band (M= Measurement of your head minus 2 inches – this is where you use the measuring tape)
Cut 1 – 3″ x 2″ Binding Strip

As you can see, I made quite a few headbands.

Assembly:

Take your 3″ x 2″ binding strips, fold in half (right sides together) so that it is now 3″ x 1″, and sew in place.
Trim the edge of the binding strip.
Flip inside out.

Take your band and pull it through your binding strip.

Right sides together, set your band shut. Trim the edges.

Pull your binding strip over the band’s seam – and you’re done! Yay!

So you’re probably thinking to yourself – that was an easy tutorial, just like she said! But wait, what’s so awkward about it?

Well here you go folks, the most awkward self-portraits I have EVER taken. I feel awkward even posting this lol.

Alright, that one isn’t so bad, at least my tan looks good, haha.

Oh, yup, awkward.

I’m so not a model. And here’s the winner:

Why do I look like I’m in pain, haha. Well, you guys get the picture, lol.

Ahh, but guess what, the awkward pics aren’t over. Don’t worry, just a few more!

Like this necklace?

Ok I swear, that was the last one, haha. ANYWAYS! The next tutorial I do will show you had to make a necklace just like this one!

I’m going to try and harness some more of that motivation that I found yesterday and get you a tutorial tomorrow. So stay tuned!

Oh, and I wanted to let you guys in a little secret I’ve been keeping over here. Recently I’ve jumped onto the Atkins Diet bus, and I’m really liking it. But sometimes I really want carbs, like REALLY want them. So to keep me motivated I’ve started exploring new recipes and I figured, why not share them with you?! I’ll be sharing a new post every week – planning for Wednesday or Thursday – and I’m calling it (drumroll please!):

So excited to get cooking this evening! And don’t worry, I won’t disappoint, this first recipe is going to knock your carb loving socks off!

See you next time!

Oh and don’t forget about the Blueprint Blowout going on!

Comments ( 5 )

headban, headband, low carb recipes, necklace tutorial, no carb recipes, stretch headband

Good Intentions and a Tutorial

June 13th, 2011

Remember when I said the first two weeks of June were going to be dedicated to tutorials for items used when gardening? Yeah, I got lazy. I’ve got the garden apron tutorial here for you, but it’s probably the only one that I will do of the four. I did end up making gardening gloves and a garden pad, but I wasn’t very pleased with the end result, and couldn’t muster up the energy to redo them. So therefore, I’ll only be sharing the one tutorial this week. And if I get to the headband by the end of the week, I’ll share that too. Good intentions, just no enthusiasm.

Garden Apron Tutorial

Supplies:

1.4 yards of canvas or outdoor decorating fabric at least 45″ wide
Coordinating thread
Basic sewing supplies

Cutting:

Cut 1 – 21″ x 10.5″ (body)
Cut 1 – 21″ x 7.5″ (pocket)
Cut 2 – 5″ straps the width of your fabric (mine is 45″ x 5″)
Cut 1 – 21″ x 5″ (center strap)

Assembly:

First we want to hem the upper edges of the Body and Pocket pieces. To do so, fold over the top edges 1/4″, press, and repeat. Sew in place.

Lay your Body piece on top of your Pocket piece so that they are aligned at the bottom and right sides facing up for both. Sew together.

At your ironing board, take your three straps and press in half.

Open and press the right side in so that the edge meets the center fold.

Repeat with the left side.

Press in half again.

Now, open your three pieces, and with right sides together, sew the side straps to either end of the center strap.

At your ironing board, flip the pocket piece over so that it is in front of the body piece. Press.

Then we want to hem the sides of the body/pocket piece, folding over the side edges 1/4″, pressing, and repeating. Sew in place.

Next we want to sew 2 vertical lines to make the pockets. I did mine so that all three pockets were the same width. To make sure they come out straight you can use a soluble marking pen, or if your fabric is like mine, just follow the lines.

Now we want to attach the binding straps. Start by pinning the binding to your body piece, centered and right sides together. Edge stitch in place.

Then fold your binding up and over the back side of your body piece, pinning in place.

Edge stitch your binding shut. *Note – depending on how thick your fabric is, you may want to loosen your sewing machine’s tension so that the stitches are pulled so tight.

And voila! A perfect apron for your gardening needs.

You can also add extra loops and clips to store pruning sheers or keys!

Remember when I said I had good intentions? Well I certainly pulled through with this one – and I’ve even got 3 of these aprons to go up in this week’s Blueprint Blowout! One like from the tutorial above, and 2 with utility loops! Click here to get to the Blueprint Blowout!

Bidding starts at $5, and shipping is $2.50 flat rate in the United States (no out of country bids, please). The Blowout will run through Friday at 5 pm, so get to bidding!

See you all on Friday!

Comments ( 6 )

apron, apron tutorial, garden apron, gardening, Tutorial

Mason Jar Soap Dispenser

May 23rd, 2011

I know that turning a vintage mason jar into a soap dispenser is nothing new to the crafting world. But, I’ve always wanted to do this, and have held on to mason jars just for this very reason, so I figured I would include it in the New to You series.

All you need is:

Large Soap Dispenser w/ Pump – you can pick one of these up at the dollar store for $1.
Mason Jar w/ Lid – you can find these at thrift stores, or certain spaghetti sauce companies (like Classico) still jar their sauces in Bell or Atlas mason jars.
Drill with large drill bit.
Pliers
Sand Paper
Acrylic Paint and Sponge Brush

I had all of these supplies just laying around my house, so this project was completely free for me!

First, you need to select your soap dispenser, and make sure that it is approximately the same height as your mason jar. I had this one in my bathroom, with another hiding under my sink.

Yeah, pretty gross. It was time for a new dispenser, lol.

Go ahead and unscrew the pump from the bottle, and clean it. Or, if it’s new, just rinse it off.

My mason jar still had some label stuck to it, so if yours is clean you can skip this next step. But for those with bits of paper still stuck to the sides, fill your sink with hot water and let your jar soak for about 10 minutes.

After letting it soak, you should easily be able to remove the left over label and glue by simply rubbing off with a wash cloth.

All clean!

Now it’s time to make a whole in the lid of your jar, so start by screwing the lid back onto your mason jar. Take your drill and the largest drill bit and drill a hole in the center of the lid. Then, using your pliers, pull the sides of the hole back until the base of your pump fits snug into it.

Now that your pump fits properly, remove it so that you can paint the lid a pretty color. But before painting, take your sandpaper and rough up the surface of the top and sides of the lid. Towel off the lid to get any residue off, and paint.

I used an acrylic paint in a soft purple color, and applied 3 coats for even color.

Once your paint is dry, pour your soap into the dispenser, screw the lid back onto the jar, pop your pump into the lid, and VOILA!

You have a new vintage inspired mason jar soap dispenser!

Much better than that crusty old dispenser!

Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to tune in on Wednesday for a guest post for the New to You series from Emily at The Rubber Punkin!

Until next time!

Comments ( 2 )

mason jar soap dispenser, mason jar tutorial, soap dispenser tutorial

New Love for an Old Window

May 18th, 2011

Emily over at The Rubber Punkin just posted her latest installment for the New to You series, and I am seriously jealous. Check out this fabulous calendar she created with an old window and vinyl cutouts.

Anyone who knows me will agree that I am a total organizing/planning freak, and I would l-o-v-e to have one of these in my house. And now that I have a Silhouette, it’s totally doable. Looks like I have another project to add to my ever-growing list!

Have any of you been following along with us during the New to You series? I’d love to see your thrifty projects! Please share them on my Facebook wall!

See you on Monday!

Comments ( 0 )

Thrifty Plastic Bag Dispenser

May 16th, 2011

The apartment complex that I’ve been living in for the past year and a half has really begun cracking down on how the community properly disposes of our pet’s ‘messes’. I have always complied with this rule (cough, cough – ok, maybe once or twice I ignored one of Bruce’s ‘messes’), but now that I’m REALLY focusing on complying, I’ve noticed the price in doggie disposal bags are rising. So, I’ve opted to start reusing plastic shopping bags I acquire when I go shopping. Only problem with that was that I had no proper storage area for the bags, so they were just getting thrown into a drawer. And then every time I went to retrieve one of these said bags, I could never just grab one, they all had to come out. Annoying.

The answer? A Plastic Bag Dispenser!

So, to keep along with the New to You series, I decided to take this shirt I had recently discovered a hole in, and revamp it for my new dispenser!

First step, I a large rectangular shape (as large as I could) from the back panel. I didn’t measure, but just be sure that one edge is longer than the other. I also cut two smaller rectangular pieces for the ties – just guestimate it.

Take your tie pieces, and press them in half lengthwise.

Open your pressed pieces and fold the long edges in towards the center fold.

Open again, and press one of the short ends in about a 1/4 inch.

Close again, press well, and sew along the two finished edges. Set aside.

Next, take your main piece and on one of the short endges, press in 1/2 inch.

Fold over another 1/2 inch and press again. This will be your encasing for the elastic band.

Then, on the other short end, fold and press in 1/2 inch, and repeat.

At your sewing machine, unfold both of the short ends that you just pressed, fold in half to form a long rectangle with right sides together, and stitch along the long edge.

(unfold ends)

(stitch long edge)

Now you should have a tube with two open ends. Re-fold your elastic edge (1/2 inch, 2 times).

Edge stitch to close the elastic casing, leaving a 1 inch opening.

Using a safety pin, feed a piece of elastic through the tube you just created. Make sure your elastic is 2 – 3 inches shorter than the diameter of the bag dispenser to create ruffling effect. Stitch edges of elastic together, and finish off the edge stitching to close the elastic tube.

Now we want to attach the ties to the body of the bag. To do so, find the center of your bag and pin one of the ties in center of the other end of the bag. Note – the edge should still be unfolded! And you want to pin the tie so that the raw edge of the tie is flush to the first fold line from the edge of the bag.

Sew into place.

Repeat with second tie on other side of bag.

Refold these edges along fold lines (1/2 inch, 2 times), pin in place, and edge stitch around the entire tube.

Press well, then fold the ties up so that they are coming out of the open end of your dispenser. Pin in place, and restitch along your edge stitching from the step before, but just over the ties. This is to double secure the ties. (Sorry this one came out a little blurry!)